The Pregnant Bride's Trouble

by Indiana Wake

  Bryony tried to run, but the pain was crippling. She could barely hobble. The last bout of pain dropped her to her knees and she screamed.

  Then something hit her in the back, and Bryony’s world went black.

  8

  Lee had had a sleepless night. All he could think about was Bryony and their kiss. She had made a move on him, which had surprised him. He hadn’t thought her as forward. And he couldn’t bring himself to push away after that.

  It had been very hard to walk away when he had. But Lee knew it was the right move. He had already created a scandal around Bryony, something she didn’t need right now. She needed to focus on herself and her baby. And keep her marriage options open.

  One of those options wouldn’t be him, Lee was sure. He was a confirmed bachelor. He didn’t need a wife.

  The problem was, the more he thought about Bryony, the more Lee didn’t want to be without her. She had well and truly sneaked past his defenses. It was frightening how easily she had managed to do that.

  Lee knew he was late for surgery, but it was a quiet day. Nobody had been banging at his door, demanding to be let in for any ridiculous ailment they could think of. Hopefully, he could have a quiet morning trying to get himself into a state that was good enough to see patients in. It wasn’t fair on them to be in a bad mood, although Lee was almost past the point of caring.

  “Doctor Lambert!”

  Lee stopped halfway across the foyer and groaned as the door crashed open. Then he turned, and his heart stopped. Colin, one of the supervisors at the mines, was coming in with Bryony in his arms. Bryony was crying out and clutching at her belly. She was covered in dust, her face white.

  Lee remembered how to use his feet and ran over.

  “Dear God! Bryony!” He stared at Colin. “What happened?”

  “There was a rockslide at the mines,” Colin said grimly. “Bryony got caught in it.”

  “What was she doing out there?”

  “I think she was telling one of my men to back off. He was running after her when the rockslide happened.”

  Dean. It had to be Dean. Lee wanted to go after the brute, but Bryony’s moans brought him back to the present. She was his priority now.

  Taking her from Colin’s arms, Lee headed toward the stairs. His surgery wasn’t the best place for this. She needed somewhere a bit more comfortable, more private.

  “Get Mrs. Parry.” He shouted as he went up the stairs. “Quickly! And then make sure nobody comes in, especially Dean. If I see him in here, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  The big man ran off, the door banging behind him.

  Lee got to the next floor, his private rooms, and into the guest room. Bryony was practically crying and writhing in his arms as Lee laid her on the bed. He sat beside her, brushing her hair off her sweating forehead.

  “Bryony? Bryony, it’s Lee. Look at me.”

  “Lee?” Bryony’s eyes fluttered open. She reached for him, and then she flinched. “Ouch! My stomach hurts.”

  This wasn’t good. Lee didn’t need to guess what was happening, it was obvious that Bryony was in labor. He gripped her hand tightly.

  “Breathe through it,” he said, stroking her head. “Grip my hand and breathe through it.”

  He needed the midwife here. Lee had been at a few births, but he had never conducted one on his own. And he wasn’t about to mess it up for Bryony. Her grip tightened, almost making his fingers go numb, and then she sagged onto the coverlet, breathing heavily.

  “How long have these been going on for?”

  “A while, but they’ve been pretty regular since this morning.” Bryony was shivering. “They’re getting worse.”

  She was in labor. And from the look in her eyes, she knew exactly what that meant. She was terrified. Lee leaned over and kissed her gently, stroking her cheek.

  “Don’t panic, my love,” he whispered the words without realizing. “Mrs. Parry is on her way now. You just need to keep yourself calm and breathe through it all.”

  “Stay calm?” Bryony gasped. “How can I…”

  She stopped abruptly as another contraction hit her.

  Lee waited as she rode it out, gripping his fingers hard enough for him to wince. Bryony whimpered and reached for him, tears streaking her cheeks.

  “Don’t leave me. Please.”

  “I won’t.” Lee kissed her hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  9

  Mrs. Parry arrived quickly, but Lee felt like he had been alone with Bryony for hours, his ears ringing from her screams. It was painful to hear. He didn’t like seeing her in such pain and he felt useless. Lee couldn’t begin to imagine how she felt right now.

  Mrs. Parry took control over everything. She got Lee to run around after her, fetching several towels that they put on the bed and draped over Bryony. Then he boiled water and then she had him sitting near Bryony’s head, holding her upright and rubbing her back. Bryony’s body was as taut as a bowstring. Lee was surprised she didn’t snap.

  The contractions went on for a long time, but eventually, Bryony was pushing. Mrs. Parry didn’t bat an eyelid, and was clearly the calmest one in the room. She coaxed Bryony through it all while Lee held onto Bryony as she clutched onto his arm Once her nails dug in so deep they drew blood. Lee yelped at that, but his protests were drowned out by Bryony’s screams.

  Finally, Bryony’s baby was born. A screaming little boy. Lee remembered his role and helped Mrs. Parry to cut the cord, allowing the midwife to gently wrap the baby into some towels. Then she placed the baby in Bryony’s arms, propping the mother up on pillows.

  Seeing Bryony there, holding her son, had Lee’s heart melting. It was such a beautiful sight. Even red-faced, sweating, and clearly worn out, Bryony still looked lovely. And there was so much wonder and love in her eyes as she stared down at her son, stroking his cheek and eventually soothing him.

  That was when Mrs. Parry shooed Lee out of the room. She needed to carry out some more checks on Bryony, and she was not about to have the doctor there. Lee didn’t protest. He needed to get himself a drink, just to calm himself down.

  He had seen several births before – it was part of the job to help the midwife, the one who really knew what to do – but nothing had compared to Bryony’s. It was beautiful.

  Lee stumbled downstairs and into his office. His drinks cabinet looked very inviting and Lee went straight over to it. His hands were still shaking as he found a brandy glass and the decanter, filling the glass almost to the top. The brandy burned his throat as it went down, but Lee didn’t care. He needed that drink.

  If he was like this over a birth where he wasn’t the father, Lee didn’t want to think how he would be when it was the birth of his own child.

  He was refilling the glass when he heard the outer door slam open. Moments later, Dean barged into his office, the door bouncing off the wall. He was covered in dust, and one of his sleeves was ripped. He had some blood on his lip and his knuckles were bloodied. It looked like whoever had been confining him had come off worse.

  “Where is she?” he demanded.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Where’s Bryony? I want to see her.”

  He really didn’t give up. Lee sighed and put his glass down. He wasn’t wasting good brandy by having it scattered across the floor.

  “I thought I gave strict instructions that you weren’t allowed to come in here.” Lee approached the other man, who was practically seething. “You would have put too much stress on Bryony.”

  Dean snorted rudely.

  “Like I’m going to listen to you.” He jabbed a finger at Lee’s chest. “You’re keeping my bride from me, Doctor Lambert, and I want to see her.”

  “From what I’ve heard, Bryony doesn’t want to be your bride.”

  “Bryony doesn’t know what she wants.” Dean waved his hands. “Women never do.”

  Lee felt his own anger building. He hadn’t realized how mu
ch of a misogynist Dean was. He was worse than Lee thought.

  “This woman does know what she wants,” he growled. “And it hasn’t got you anywhere in her life at all.”

  “You think?” Dean puffed out his chest. “I can make her change her mind. I’m good at that.”

  “No, you won’t.” Lee squared up to him. “You’re going to leave her alone. I won’t have you hurting her.”

  “Really?” Dean stepped closer, bumping his chest against Lee’s. “You caught me off-guard last night. I’m not going to let that happen again. I can take you on.”

  This was almost laughable. Lee wasn’t much of a fighter, but he could easily hold his own. Taking Dean down would be like flicking a fly off his sleeve. Dean thought he was a big man and could use his muscle to intimidate people. But Lee had dealt with bigger men as patients. None of this scared him.

  “Really.” Lee stepped around him and headed out into the foyer. “Now, get out of here before I call for the sheriff. Let Bryony and her baby rest.”

  “What?” Dean stopped dead. His face paled. “She’s had the baby? I thought she wasn’t due for another few weeks.”

  “Well, she’s had her child.” Lee glowered at him. “No thanks to you. You caused her enough stress to go into labor. You’re lucky Bryony didn’t die.”

  Dean swallowed. At that moment, Lee saw Philip Anthony enter the surgery. He looked from Lee to Dean, who looked like he had frozen to the spot.

  “Everything all right, Doctor Lambert?” he asked mildly.

  “Perfectly fine, Sheriff.” Lee replied. “But I have a patient who is in no condition to have visitors, and she needs to rest.” He indicated Dean. “Get this man out of here, will you?”

  “With pleasure.” Philip approached Dean. “Come on, Dean.”

  Dean shook off Philip’s hand and glowered.

  “Fine. I’m going. But I’ll be back later to see Bryony. I haven’t given up on her.”

  Lee and Philip exchanged looks. Dean wouldn’t know a rejection if it hit him in the face, although that might go down better Bryony didn’t need that right now.

  But Lee did still need another strong drink.

  10

  She was a mother. Bryony was still trying to let that to sink in. Even after she had given birth, Mrs. Parry had sorted out the afterbirth and cleaned her up, Bryony still couldn’t believe she could now be called a mother. Her son was gorgeous, even when he was screaming his head off. But once he was fed, he fell right to sleep.

  Mrs. Parry was an angel. She washed and dressed the baby in clothes she had brought with her, settling him into Bryony’s arms. Then she took her leave, promising to come back the next day and see how they were doing.

  Bryony was exhausted. But she didn’t know if she would be able to sleep; she would be staring far too often at her son.

  Baby Liam was a wonder.

  There came a gentle tap at the door. Bryony looked up to see Lee put his head around the door. She smiled. The man had been a saint, doing everything asked of him.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey. May I come in?”

  “Of course.” Bryony gestured with her head at her sleeping son. “Would you like to hold him? He’s sleeping so he won’t be wriggling too much.”

  “All right.”

  Lee sat on the bed beside her, and Bryony carefully passed Liam across. Lee stared at the baby in his arms, his eyes lighting up. Bryony loved the look on his face. He was enamored of Liam as much as she was.

  He would be a brilliant father.

  “He’s gorgeous,” Lee murmured, stroking the baby’s head.

  “He is.” Bryony looked at Lee’s arm, noticing the bandages. “How’s your arm?”

  “You did draw some blood.”

  “Sorry.”

  Lee grinned.

  “Don’t be. I’m glad I could be useful.”

  Bryony giggled. Wincing at the uncomfortable movement, she sat forward and kissed Lee’s cheek.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being there.” Bryony laid a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  She really didn’t. Lee had shown Bryony that he was someone she could rely upon. He was dependable. And the look on his face he showed that he loved Liam. That was important to Bryony.

  She could only hope he would allow her to stay. Bryony didn’t want to go anywhere.

  Lee smiled at her.

  “You would have been fine. But I’m glad I could help.”

  “You helped a lot.” Bryony found an ounce of courage and tugged him closer. “I still need to thank you.”

  “There’s no need…”

  Lee’s protest was cut off as Bryony kissed him. He sighed and kissed her back, pulling away to shift closer.

  “Steady. I don’t want to drop him.”

  “Do you want to give him back?”

  “Not just yet. Do you mind if I stay for a while? I’ll sit quietly beside you.”

  “All right.”

  Lee moved to the chair next to the bed, baby Liam nestled in his arms. He adjusted his arms and put one around Bryony’s shoulders. Bryony allowed him to pull her against his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “You scared me,” he whispered.

  “I scared me.” Bryony snuggled into his side. “I was not expecting that at all. I wasn’t expecting it to be so… painful.”

  “Think you’ll do it again?”

  “Once my mind isn’t traumatized.” Bryony joked. She looked up at Lee. “Where’s Dean now?”

  “He came back just now.”

  “I thought I heard him shouting.”

  Lee sighed.

  “He still thinks you’re going to be his wife. But Philip took him away. I’ve told him that Dean is not to come anywhere near you at all. I don’t want him harming you or your son.”

  Bryony smiled and kissed his neck.

  “I love you,” she said. Then she started. Where had that come from? Bryony hadn’t expected to blurt it out like that. But it had. Now the words hung in the air and Lee stared at her, his expression just as startled.

  “What did you say?”

  Blushing to the roots of her hair, Bryony looked away and gnawed at her lip.

  “I love you. I… I thought you were going to leave.”

  “And you thought that would make me stay?” Lee chuckled and hugged her closer to his side. “You didn’t need to say it. All you had to do was ask me to stay.”

  “For now or permanently?”

  Where was this courage coming from? Becoming a mother seemed to have brought out a strain of confidence Bryony had never possessed. Liam was good for her more than she realized.

  Lee raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Which one would you prefer?”

  “Both.” Bryony swallowed and hurried on. “But only if… I mean, if you don’t… I won’t hold it against…”

  Lee cut her protests off, kissing her silent. Bryony sighed and melted against him, careful not to knock her son. Liam squeaked, wriggled a little, and then settled back down. Lee drew back, pressing a kiss to Bryony’s forehead.

  “Do you want to take him back?”

  “All right.”

  Bryony took her son Lees sat on the edge of the bed and she settled back against his chest. Lee put his arms around her, kissing her head.

  “Of course I’ll stay.” He stroked her hair. “I’m not about to walk away from the woman I’ve fallen in love with if she didn’t want me to.”

  He loved her. Bryony almost squealed in delight. Instead, she smiled up at him.

  “I want you to stay. If you don’t mind Liam coming with me.”

  “Liam?”

  “I named him partially after you.”

  Lee chuckled.

  “It suits him. And he’s your son. I wouldn’t ask you to abandon him.” He kissed her. “There’s not a chance of that, besides I was there and it was wonderful.”

&
nbsp; 11

  “You’re not going to leave him alone, are you?” Gareth asked, nodding at the baby in his wife’s arms.

  Mary laughed.

  “What’s wrong with it? I need the practice.”

  Gareth rolled his eyes.

  “You’re going to be practicing plenty with our own child soon enough. But you might want to give Liam back before he starts getting hungry.”

  “He’s not hungry yet.” Liam was fast asleep, snuggled against Mary’s shoulder. She rubbed his back. “He’s fine. Let Bryony have her arms free for her husband.”

  The mother and stepfather were across the field, talking to Andrea and her husband Steven. It was four weeks after Bryony had given birth, and she looked stunning. She practically glowed in her dress, holding Lee’s hand while looking up at him with an adoring smile.

  Mary’s heart almost melted at the sight, especially when she saw Lee’s beaming grin. He looked like he had won a competition to get his wife.

  Mary couldn’t be more proud of them. All it had taken was a bit of courage, and Bryony and the two had realized they were made for each other. Now Liam had a father who would love him like his own. Lee clearly adored Liam. There was no fear of him putting his stepson aside.

  Gareth snorted and sipped at his wine.

  “I’m not sure if you can count this as a successful matchmaking, Mary.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Lee wasn’t one of the matches, and he married Bryony, someone you got to come over here. Then again, all the men in question weren’t classed as matches. They hadn’t even signed up.”

  Mary giggled.

  “They didn’t know what they wanted.”

  Gareth stared at his wife. Then he shook his head.

  “You’re going to get a swelled head, honey,” he warned. “If you’re not careful, you won’t be able to stand up without falling over.”

  “I’m going to fall over with this belly, anyway.” Mary laughed. Then she looked up as a shadow fell over the table. “Sean, hello. Come, sit down.”

  “Thank you.” Sean Foster sat, stretching out his long legs. “That was a lovely ceremony.”